“We started out the game
like it was going to be fantastic, and I was really thinking this was going to
be a special, special night – and then we played the second half quite
differently. I was not thrilled with the way we finished the match, but I am
extremely thrilled with the result.”

On the
record-tying home undefeated streak:

“We feel really good
about that statistic now. I think in our next match we will be gangbusters
going to break the record. It is important to us. We take a lot of pride in our
building, as I’ve said before. I think it’s more than a building for us since a
lot of us have been here since the place opened up. It feels a little bit more
like a home.”

On the difference
between the first and the second halves:

“I don’t think went out
in the second half with the same defensive grit. In the first half Andy
[Williams], Ned [Grabavoy], and particularly Kyle [Beckerman] were doing such a
great job of turning back and double-teaming, helping our defenders to close
things down.

“I just thought all of
the details that we talked about over and over and over again, we were paying
attention to the utmost in the first half and in the second half it was like
‘Oh, we don’t need to do those things.’ I think we felt like we were
a little too comfortable, and I don’t think there was a reason we should
have been because it was only 1-0.”

REAL SALT LAKE
FORWARD FABÍAN ESPÍNDOLA

On his goal:

“It was Kyle [Beckerman]
that put the ball between the defenders, and I just tried to hold the ball.
When the ‘keeper came out towards me I just tried to finish past him.”

On the importance
of scoring early:

“It was very important
because we get confidence from that. From then on we did a good job
defending. We got three points; it’s important, it’s a big deal.”

REAL SALT LAKE
MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN

On the vital three
points:

“It was a game we needed
to win to keep pace for the Supporter’s Shield. L.A. lost some points
today and now we are only one behind them. As long as there are games to
play and it’s mathematically possible, we’ll try to get it.”

On the early goal:

“We just wanted to come
out and get on them. An early goal is always good, but I feel like the
game could have been done in the first half and instead we don’t score another
goal and it gets a little interesting in the second half. We need to keep
working on trying to finish teams off when we get them on the ropes.”

REAL SALT LAKE
GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO

On tying the MLS
home undefeated streak record at 22 games:

“Our main focus was
really New York, not the record. But I know that management and our fans wanted
to record really badly, so it’s a good feeling to get that, especially on a
win.”

On shutting down
the strike tandem of Thierry Henry and Juan Pablo Angel:

“We wanted to focus on
the whole team because they’ve got a lot of quality players all around.
It wasn’t just me, it wasn’t just the defenders, it was the whole team that
shut those guys down defensively. Passing lanes and double-teaming
players, we focused on that today and they really didn’t have a lot of chances,
and the ones they did our defenders took care of them.”

NEW YORK RED BULLS
HEAD COACH HANS BACKE

Overall thoughts
on the match:

“We didn’t really show
up in the first half. It was two different halves. [Real Salt Lake] dominated
the first one and we controlled the second one and we didn’t really take
advantage of the first five minutes of the second half. But overall the team
responded very well in the second half. When you are only down by one goal, you
are still in the game. I would say that we were rather close to getting the tie
tonight.”

Thoughts on the difficulty
of playing at Rio Tinto Stadium:

“We were only down by
one in the first half and it was not due to fatigue, but we just were not
aggressive in a pressing game. But the way we responded in the second half was
good, and if you can perform like this against a team like [Real Salt Lake] you
can definitely have a chance.”

On the differences
between the first and second halves:

“It’s always difficult
to say when you have such a difference between the first and second half. We
made some changes tactically at halftime and that worked out well in the way
that we defended and, at the same time, our attacking game looked much more
precise and we created some good chances. I have said before that Salt Lake,
Columbus, and L.A. are in a different class, but if we can play like this
without four starters I would say that our depth is okay.”

NEW YORK RED BULLS
FORWARD THIERRY HENRY

On the result:

“[Real Salt Lake] showed
how good they really are today. It wasn’t the best game for us, especially
giving up the first goal against a team who loves keep the ball and pass the
ball. It’s not an easy task to come from behind. I think we played better in
the second half. In the first half they took advantage of our play; it could
have been 2-0 at halftime and the game could have been over. We got some
chances in the second half but they were able kill it off and they deserved the
win.”

On midfielder
Rafael Marquez’s absence due to national team duty:

“It was a big factor for
us. I don’t know if you saw in the first half, but we played long ball
[football], which is not the way the game should be played. You saw the way
that Salt Lake, they pass the ball on the ground. I think Rafa not being here
was a bit difficult for us because he has a great vision and can calm people
down, so we definitely missed him today.”

NEW YORK RED BULLS
FORWARD JUAN PABLO ANGEL

On the result:

“We did not get a good
start and [Real Salt Lake] capitalized on that and scored a goal. They had their
chances and we had our chances, and I think the goalkeepers played a big part
in the final result.”

On moving forward:

“I feel confident. I
think our team is playing very well even though today we were in a very
difficult place. I think the team challenged [Real Salt Lake] and played well
and created some chances. We are in a very good position and we need to keep
getting points and make the playoffs. Anything can happen from here.”

On trying to
defeat RSL at its Rio Tinto Stadium home:

“They are strong here
and they always seem to win here. They have a good run of home wins and we knew
that it was going to be tough coming in here, but I think we gave them a hard
time.”